Stone sculpture

I need to work on a 60 years old outdoor limestone sculpture,
approx. 12 ft. tall. The surface is badly pitted and worn, with some
spalling occuring. In fact, huge sections of clothing are also
missing. It is stained with a black stain which I am told is the
result of burning car tire on the head of the statue during
Halloween. Due to acid rain deterioration details of human facial
features are such as noses and ears are flattened, in some cses they
look like they never existed though an earlier photograph (50 years
earlier) shows them clear and sharp.

The clients want some of the features mildly restored. They also
want the surface sealed for protection against the elements.

What is the latest on the issue of sealing stone sculture? Do we
want to leave them alone so they can breathe or do we want to
prevent them being reduced to lumps of stone with no features? What
is being used to seal tones these days?

What would you use to assentuate the features without resorting to
carving them?

Ebenezer Kotei
Hagley Museum & Library
Wilmington, Delawar 19807
302-658-2400

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:20
                Distributed: Wednesday, August 26, 1998
                       Message Id: cdl-12-20-021
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